Amari Cooper

What is Derek Carr's obsession with Michael Crabtree? For the second year in a row, the ineffective Crabtree (6.9 YPT, 33rd) saw more looks (145) than Cooper (8.7 YPT, 13th) did (132), especially in t...

Cooper's rookie year was more or less what one would expect. While he eclipsed 1,000 receiving yards, making him only the 15th rookie to do so since the merger, he scored only six times, and his 8.2 YPT placed him 16th among the league's 32 100-target wide receivers. But perhaps the bigger surprise was Cooper not being the top target on his own team. Despite playing all 16 games, he finished with 16 fewer targets than Michael Crabtree, a castoff from the 49ers whose career seemed on its last legs. At 6-1, 211, Cooper has decent size, and his 4.42 40 time is above average. He's a strong route-runner, quick in and out of breaks and willing to go over the middle of the field. He also makes big plays — his six catches for 40-plus yards tied for sixth in the league, even though he was only 16th in targets. Heading into 2016, Cooper should supplant Crabtree as the team's target leader. Receivers typically make dramatic improvements in their second seasons, and while David Carr is no Drew Brees, he is a competent quarterback who should also get better in Year 3 as his rapport with Cooper grows.

2015

The fourth overall pick in this year's draft, Cooper won't hurt for opportunities in Oakland. The question is of what quality. While some are excited about quarterback Derek Carr's 21-TD, 12-INT rookie season, it came with a 5.5 YPA, last by a wide margin among the 36 quarterbacks with 200 or more pass attempts. To be sure, Cooper should be an immediate upgrade over Carr's targets from last season, and it's likely he'll be the team's clear No. 1 out of the gate even with newly signed Michael Crabtree around. But this is a bottom-of-the-barrel organization trying to improve a passing game that ranked 26th in yards and last in efficiency. Cooper himself is an interesting prospect because for such an early pick he lacks the elite size/speed profile of an A.J. Green or Julio Jones. But at 6-1, 211, he's above average in height and weight, and his 4.42 40 is fast, just not blazingly so. Cooper's especially polished as a route-runner, quick and fluid in and out of breaks and willing to take hits and catch balls in traffic. And he was massively productive in college. But while some have compared him to Marvin Harrison, no one is comparing his quarterback to Peyton Manning.